Closing the Distance
by jaggedjacket
Summary: Shino and Tenten seem to be using their punctuality as an excuse to be close to one another. Rated M for violence and gore in sixth chapter. Chapter 8 up. Complete. Me no own.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Me no own.

The Hyuga main house was an impressive construct, taller than most mansions in Konoha, its compound containing almost its own village in and of itself, with similar yet smaller houses littered throughout. Here, in front of her, was the main house, glistening with a fresh frost over its massive stone pillars and steeples. The house almost seemed daunting, knowing its residents were almost as frigid as its outside components. She shuddered and if she didn't know any better, it would remind her of something out of a fairytale.

It was quite the windy day, this the first with frost that lingered in the morning, and Tenten could see her breath as she blew it throatily into her hands as to try to retain some warmth. Her eyes lingered on the main houses arches and intricately carved wooden doors, the sheen on them gave them almost a gossamer look, and Tenten rubbed her arms with her hands to try and warm them up. She didn't realize she had been so early, but she supposed she might have done it subconsciously on purpose. The earlier she became, the earlier he was, and even though they shared only a few words of conversation between them, she found his proximity, well, she liked it, and she was determined to find out more about the illusive Aburame heir to distinguish what it was about him that piqued her interest.

He dropped down out of no where, straightening his tall figure and rounding out his broad shoulders with masculine grace as he took his place beside her. He was a little closer than he normally stood, and they both faced the main house doors before she looked up at him and graced him with a smile and they exchanged good mornings.

She had noticed that his proximity to her was gradually increasing with each morning like this, but perhaps only a ninja might be able to perceive the diminutive closure in distance between them. She had to admit that she liked him so close, his warmth was quite welcoming, and she could almost feel the vibration of his destruction bugs as they hummed inside of him. She blew into her hands again and tried to catch his eyes as she did, but the goggles gave nothing away as they stood there in silence, waiting for their perspective team members.

For all their high and mightiness, the Hyugas were chronically late, making their residence the ideal spot for their congregating teammates, and it was actually located closer to the training grounds than anyone else's house, which might actually be the contributing factor to their lack of punctuality. It was efficient and convenient, and Kurenai and Gai had agreed early on that they really wanted nothing to do with Hiashi or to wait on his property only to find the man either hospitable or not, so they opted to wait for their subordinates at the training grounds which helped them prep for the day anyways.

Which was okay in Tenten's book at the moment, Lee was probably going to arrive late as he was so filled with the joy of the first frost that he decided to do laps around Konoha and told Tenten very joyously that he would meet them at the training grounds afterwards.

This left Kiba to be arriving around a minute or two before a pale-eyed Hyugas showed their faces, and Tenten was grateful for the time spent alone with the man radiating heat off of him beside her. Almost nervous at beginning the conversation, she smiled and affably tried anyways.

"I can't believe I am going to say this, but I hope Gai-sensei has a rigorous workout for us today, I am chilled to the bone." She smiled again at his stoic visage, and breathed again into her palms before rubbing them together.

"You should have worn a jacket," Shino instructed to her and Tenten nearly frowned at how well the conversation was going.

Maybe him coming closer to her today was all out of pity that she looked pathetically cold and him wanting to be closer to her was all in her head. She sighed as she though all of that over and almost jumped at the weight of the jacket suddenly falling onto her shoulders. The warmth of the material enveloped her and she was racked with his heady aroma that surrounded her in an almost euphoric trance. She glanced up out of her haze to see the Aburame was flushed slightly, though it could have been from the cold's whipping wind. Right now she didn't care, as she got a better look at the chiseled jaw that he had been hiding that seemed a little clenched, and a long thick neck that she had never seen. His expression remained reticent and stoic as ever, giving her the impression that he was quite reluctant to relinquish the jacket to her.

"Thanks," she managed and she grabbed the lapels, folding them across each other to maintain the warmth and scent that the Aburame had so graciously bestowed upon her.

So far, Tenten was thinking that this was a great way to start the day, and she hoped that the others would be more than their usual late time-frame. Shino had offered him her jacket, and she had never even seen the guy take it off even once, she wondered briefly what he would look like with out his goggles as well. He was quite handsome now that she could see most of his face, and she was willing to bet that his eyes weren't a far cry from what he had already revealed.

She could see heat rising off of the bug-nin in small steamy waves coming off of his broad shoulders when the wind stopped blowing, as a few bugs scurried to his core and burrowed under his skin for warmth. She jerked suddenly and let out a small yip at the tickle of a rouge bug crawling down her shirt, and she opened the jacket and bent forward, trying to fish out the salacious little beetle now nestling into the farthest recesses of her bra. Shino nearly balked, staring at her in confusion at first, then with an apologetic look as he looked on helplessly trying to call the beetle to him, and the beetle in turn ignoring his command.

"My apologies," he said taking the bug in his palm with bright cheeks, and Tenten noted that his hands were still warm despite his lack of clothing.

"It was just hard to get him out with out crushing him, I didn't want to hurt the little guy," Tenten explained as she offered the bug back to the goggled shinobi. Her hands looked tiny in his large ones, and despite the fact that his hands remained warm, she could feel him shaking ever so slightly, weather it be from the cold or from the destruction bugs, she might never know.

He nodded his thanks and Tenten rewrapped the coat around her with a shiver as she watched Shino let the beetle disappear underneath a fold of skin at his wrist. He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, one that hugged his frame well, but seemed to be made of a breathable material and able to move well in. Tenten realized that he was a bit stockier than her more slender teammates, and it was quite refreshing to see a dissimilar body type for a change. He held his body with dignity as if she had not been just studying his body type and she was called out of her scrutiny when he announced:

"The others will be along soon."

She frowned, as she knew that was her queue to return the jacket, lest anyone conclude something inappropriate. Shrugging it off her shoulders reluctantly, she held it out to the Aburame who took it slowly and almost hesitantly, if it weren't for the tense set of his jaw which made him seem quite put off by the whole ordeal, she would have sworn that he wanted her to keep it for the day. Tenten couldn't help but think that maybe she was reading him wrong, even with his jacket off; it was hard to tell exactly what was going on in his head. Perhaps it was the cold weather that clouded her assessment of the taller shinobi. She couldn't seem to get a good read off of him. She watched him swiftly pull on the grey coat with a bit of disappointment. It had been nice to see the unshielded side of Shino and the loss of heat and dangerously intoxicating scent of his jacket mixed with knowing that company would come and interrupt them soon resulted in a less than happy Weapon's Mistress.

She tried not to frown as she heard Akamaru's barks in the distance, and instead, she smiled warmly at her taller counter partner and thanked him again for the use of his jacket.

"Any time," Shino nodded to her, and Tenten had a feeling that he meant it by the sound of his voice and the way that he stood to look at her.

Bounding around the corner at a good speed were Akamaru and Kiba; their exuberance and playfulness radiating off of them as they approached. They skidded to a halt in front of them and Kiba interrupted the serenity with a loud good morning.

The two returned the sentiments to the fanged ninja as he petted Akamaru on his large white head. It seemed like only a few seconds before the two cousins exited the main house and joined them rather unapologetically for their tardiness.

Shino gave a curt nod to Tenten before swiftly leaving and she took off with her teammate feeling colder than ever.

..0.0.0…

Shino tried to think of the best way to approach the konoichi as he stared down at her from the main house roof. She looked lost in her thoughts, facing the large wooden doors as if in a trance. Despite the slick roof from the lingering frost, he decided to drop down beside her so he didn't have to walk up to her from a far distance and potentially be so distracted by the sight of her that he stumble and fall. He also tried to plan dropping down quite closer than he would to her than anyone else. He could just straighten up from his spot and then stand up, although he hoped that he wouldn't think he was invading her personal space and take a step back. It was quite the gamble. Her being early gave him a bit of confidence, perhaps she figured out the earlier she arrived, the earlier he arrived as well. He had to test his approximation theory, and he took a deep breath and jumped with ninja prowess almost soundlessly beside her. He hoped this entry didn't seem too much like Lee's and he mentally berated himself as he realized now that it probably did, and he was so lost in his inner upbraiding of his actions that he had missed the opportunity to say good morning first. She had even smiled at him, which threw him off balance again. He was determined to make the best of the scarce minutes that he had with her until their respective teammates arrived.

Cursing himself to put forth a better effort, he listened intently as she had suddenly begun to talk.

"I can't believe I am going to say this, but I hope Gai-sensei has a rigorous workout for us today, I am chilled to the bone." She smiled up at him as she rubbed her arms, implying that she was cold with out actually saying it.

Without realizing that the incredibly unhelpful words had escaped his mouth, he simply stated, "You should have worn a jacket." This statement earned him a frown and he was now mentally kicking himself in the head at how stupid he could be in her presence.

He almost jumped up in the air at the thought of something that he could do. He could offer her his jacket.

Unable to actually formulate the words to tell her to take it, he shook it off and plunked it on to her small frame instead and tried hard not to blush. When was the last time he washed that damn thing? He hoped and prayed it didn't smell too horrible, and he realized he should have called all of his destruction beetles to him the moment she yipped in surprise soon after her brief thanks.

Oh, Kami, things could not be going worse. He was facing her, trying his best to concentrate on calling back his wandering kikaichu when she leaned forward, nearly exposing herself in the process and Shino got a very good eyeful down her shirt.

Flushing furiously he took the proffered little hellion with trembling hands.

"My apologies," he managed to say without stuttering or a cracked voice.

Her hands, he noticed, were much smaller than his and cold, but her touch was gentle; she had managed to dig him out without harming him in the slightest.

"It was just hard to get him out with out crushing him; I didn't want to hurt the little guy," he heard her say to him by way of explanation, and Shino nodded as he contemplated her words and her reactions. She didn't freak out that there was a bug in her shirt and had even gone to great lengths to retrieve him unscathed. Perhaps his initial feelings for her were not unfounded. She had not moved to get out of his proximity yet, and he was becoming so bold at his advances that he feared she might be on to him. He hoped that if she did, that perhaps she was encouraging him. He tried not to think about it as the wind whipped around him and he unconsciously clenched his jaw: a habit he grew into when he was over-thinking things or nervous. Letting the beetle burrow under his skin and nearly tingling physically in the form of a shutter from the small amount of her chakra it unknowingly transferred, he tried to focus on forming some kind of intelligent words to engage her in a conversation. His time with her was running short, and he needed to get the mental image of her soft flesh out of his brain in order to function properly. Nearly grinding his teeth at his own personal inadequacies, he realized that he was too late and that his teammate was fast approaching.

"The others will be along soon." He stated this aloud, and tried not to sound depressed about it as he did. What little time he managed to interact with her had not quite gone according her his master plan. She had slipped out of his jacket and was handing it over, and Shino was surprised that she did not keep it. Perhaps a good washing was in order as soon as he returned home. He threaded his arms into his sleeves and was pleasantly surprised at the subtle change in smell emulating from his jacket. She smelled heavenly, what little he could pick up that wasn't masked by his more masculine scent.

Kiba skidded to a halt in front of him along with Akamaru and ebulliently offered a morning greeting to them.

Returning the gesture with only half such vigor, it wasn't a moment more before the Hyugas were trotting up to them, nonchalantly forgetting their lateness as per usual. He turned away first, unable to let her be the first to leave, for fear it from a personal distaste of him instead.

Tomorrow he would do better. As he inhaled the inside of his jacket feigning looking for something from his inner pockets, he thought better of washing it right away. He rather liked her scent on him, and he just knew by the feral look that Kiba gave him when they were well out of earshot of the other team that he knew.

A/N: I liked doing the two perspectives. Perhaps another chapter? Let me know!

~jaggedjacket


	2. Chapter 2

"Slick," Kiba said knowingly, just low enough that Hinata couldn't hear, and if she did, he would have played it off as gesturing to the frosted ground below them that nearly crunched with every step they took to their training grounds. When she didn't turn around from that comment, he knew he could continue with relative secrecy.

"So it went well?" Kiba whispered conspiratorially to his comrade. "She wore your jacket, that has got to be a plus," Kiba tried to extract the information that the Aburame was very unwilling to share. He nearly had to beat it out of him that he was interested in her to begin with, and that was only after he had painstakingly got him drunk the one and only time Shino consumed alcohol.

Shino only gave him a frown to show his dissent towards his interrogation methods.

"She gave it back," he concluded the inevitable defeat that it was a mission fail.

"So?" Kiba butted-in undeterred by his eternally pessimistic friend, "but you offered and she accepted, she could have denied it to begin with, but she didn't. She took it, which means something."

"I didn't offer it to her, I put it on her without permission," Shino corrected him, and Kiba almost deflated at the conclusion. "She took it off right away?" Kiba was stroking his chin in thought as to a new strategy for his friend.

"She did not; she wore it for a while, and then took it off when I announced your arrival."

"She didn't take it off right away?" Kiba brightened at the news considerably, and continued on with great enthusiasm, "That's good! What is your plan for tomorrow?"

"I am not consulting you with my personal affairs Kiba," Shino explained with great annoyance in his voice.

"You don't have a plan." Kiba interpreted the ridge-standing shinobi's words.

"Not a clue." Shino supplied in a weary tone, making his way over to Hinata to give her one of her kunai that he had somehow gotten mixed up with his. This made it also seem like he wasn't ignoring her on purpose to talk to the Inuzuka.

Casually making his way back over to Kiba by way of feigning interest of Akamaru, he asked with almost instantaneous regret, "any suggestions?"

Kiba rummaged through his backpack for the day searching for his water bottle and med pack. "Ok, what about having one of your bugs tickle her foot or something? She might freak out and swat at it, but it might be worth the conversation that it stirs."

"Did that on accident already today," Shino pretended to search his inner pockets again to seem preoccupied as he inhaled her pleasant scent once more before taking out a salve and handing it to the dog-nin.

Kiba was totally on board with looking unprepared for sparring to buy a few moments of conversation before they continued for hours without a word on the subject.

"How did that go?" He kept his voice concerned for his friend and not curious, although Shino was sure that it had to be a mixture of both.

"Not sure," Shino considered weather or not that was a disaster. He hadn't meant to glance so lecherously at the more-than-he-imagined-well-endowed and sexy konoichi, and she hadn't killed his bug, so he would affirm that it went relatively well considering it had not been planned. "Not terrible," he provided after Kiba gave him a disconcerting look.

"She kill your bug and/or revile you?" Kiba asked as he raised an eyebrow and handed a shiriken to the bug-user.

"No."

"Then it you count that as a win," Kiba stood up from his squat on the ground and smiled a toothy grin to his friend. They crossed their way to the training grounds where Kuranai was chatting affably with Hinata, ready to begin the days training.

o.o.o.o.o.o.0.0…o.o.o.o.0

Tenten was in a mental debate with herself over weather or not to wear a jacket. She rummaged through her closet and fingered the one pink one that had fit her a year ago, but no longer. She really didn't have anything suitable enough to be presentable when she was actually trying to impress a boy. She also didn't want to look stupid not wearing one, as she was clearly told yesterday to do just that. Today was marginally less frigid than the day before, so she could chance going without, hoping to go out later and purchase something suitable before the first snow storm. Finding a moment to do so might be tricky, but she would just have to eat up some of her sword polishing time in order to accomplish the task. She refused to give up her meditation slot, as it was the only thing at this point keeping her lucid and not throttling all of the male shinobi that made up her team. Running out the door for fear that she might not be early enough to catch Shino alone at the Hyuga complex, she realized that a jacket could be reasonably optional and might not look as foolish as she had initially thought.

He was riffling through his breast pockets when she approached, obviously searching for something with great concern.

"Good morning," he offered and ceased his search in lieu of focusing his attention on her. She felt quite pleased at this, but also felt that she had interrupted something she shouldn't have.

"Good morning," she tried her best not to blush from the sudden attention, "did you loose something?" She hoped her tone was more curious and not accusatory of him being irresponsible as a shinobi or feckless in any way.

"I seem to have misplaced my whet stone," Shino provided with an even tone.

Tenten nearly smiled. This was definitely her department. She took a step back, giving the frown on the Aburame's face little attention as she withdrew a scroll from her pouch, bit her thumb and slammed it into the surface summoning her provisions.

Thumbing through a few, she found one that she thought was best suited for him and handed it over to him with a smile of triumph. Entrapping the rest of her supplies, she stood up victorious as the goggled shinobi looked over the stone with approval.

"Thank you," he replied sincerely, placing the stone within the confines of his jacket and if Tenten wasn't hallucinating, she could almost see a small upturn of the corner of his mouth as he looked on her with gratitude.

"No problem," she waved off the gesture with a shrug of the shoulders, "anytime." At her last statement she involuntarily shivered as an icy gust of wind swept through the compound, and she was wishing perhaps that she had gone with the undersized pink jacket instead of nothing to cover herself up with.

"Here," she heard the Aburame speak softly as he shuffled out of his jacket and place it gingerly on her shoulders.

"Thanks," she lifted her head to smile at the more exposed boy, trying not to make it obvious that she was enjoying the smell of the jacket too much.

"Anytime."

Another long brush of wind had Tenten closing her eyes and thinking warm thoughts, and she swore under her breath that she would have to find the time today to find a proper coat. Though the thought of constantly borrowing his did appeal to her, she new this was probably the last time before she got reprimanded again.

"I just haven't gotten around to buying a new jacket," she confessed sheepishly trying to hide the tinge on her cheeks with his large lapels. He stood what she considered contemplative; perhaps dumbfounded that she had no proper attire for such harsh elements.

"That is an easy remedy," he spoke kindly to her as he advanced forward. "You can keep mine until you purchase one." He walked with great intention to her, and he was too far in her personal space to be considered polite. Slowly he moved to open the jacket and Tenten's eyes were locked onto his goggles, as if waiting for him do something even more bold than the incredibly daring move he just made. He slipped his hands inside and Tenten was almost expecting him to move her closer to him, and she could no longer take the suspense and quickly closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for the contact that never came.

"I just have to remove my belongings from the pockets," he explained and she could feel the tug on the material as he pilfered his things from the hidden compartments. Her eyes shot open, and she was sure her embarrassment could be seen on her face as he slowly removed the contents of the pockets and placed them in his hip pouch. She was all too aware of his warmth and chakra as he was merely less than an inch away from touching her, the thrum of his hive a more prominent noise, and it nearly paralyzed her with a rush of heat that was quickly becoming addictive. He really needed to overstep his boundaries with her more often. All too soon he was finished and moving his intense heat away from her, and she had wished that they could linger just a bit longer as close as they were, if not closer. Shino turned his direction to the corner of the main house, where Kiba was rounding it with Akamaru nipping at his heels.

After the exchange of good mornings, Kiba nonchalantly reminded Tenten that it was lucky that Shino has so many jackets to spare, and that Hana would be more than willing to shop with her for a new jacket. Tenten was grateful to his response that seemed to come out of the blue, but she remembered that she had run into her only yesterday to discuss possibly making a run to the marketing district to purchase much needed winter clothes. She had always been close to that particular Inuzuka; they seemed to click together where Sakura and Ino seemed all too girly for the Weapon's Mistress to form any kind of bond.

When the others had arrived, Tenten realized that he repeated the information again, so as to not cause awkwardness to her as to why she was wearing the Aburame's jacket in a self-conscious display of unwanted attention. Neji raised a disapproving eyebrow at her, and Lee only shrugged his shoulders, having no idea why it might be a big deal in the first place if Shino had so many to spare to begin with. It only left the bug-nin slightly put out for the day anyways.

The teams parted ways again, and Tenten was silently thanking her lucky starts that things had gone so smoothly.

.0o.o.o.o.o….o.o...0

Kiba fought turning around to view his handiwork and amazement at how the plan to get Tenten to wear his coat had actually worked.

"Damn, you are good," Kiba praised his friend, even though the credit for such machinations belonged to himself. Hana mentioned to their mother yesterday evening about steeling the beloved konoichi and taking her shopping for winter attire. He formulated the lack of whet stone as his first alternative, knowing very well she would have one on her, letting the jacket be a bonus and huge win if he could manage to pull it off. Apparently, it was well worth the risk.

"I owe you many thanks, that went better than expected," Shino replied to his friend showing him a smug grin that complimented the feral one his comrade was giving in toast to their devious schemes. Akamaru joined in the celebration by barking with enthusiasm as they trekked their way to the training field.


	3. Chapter 3

Kiba and Shino agreed that if there was a chance that Tenten was going to show up at the Inuzuka residence that Shino should be there. Any and every opportunity to accidentally bump into her would be a good idea as long as he had a plan for the moment he did. Tsume was away on a mission and it just so happened that Kiba really could use his help completing chores and making dinner for the family. Little known fact was that Kurenai had taught them all to be superb chefs not only out on missions, but in the real world as well. Surprisingly enough, it was honestly for Hinata's benefit at first. With out Kurenai's instruction she wouldn't be quite the talented cook she was today. Kiba and Shino made a special note to themselves to thank their sensei once again for teaching them such an important skill.

When Tenten finally knocked on the main house door, Shino was struggling to keep the Haimaru brothers from barreling down the door. He was ready to take them on a walk for Hana and had their leashes in tow when the knock of the door sent them into a wild furry of yipping, barking, jumping and slobbering. Knowing that it was Tenten who knocked, he pushed the monstrous dogs aside and opened the door while trying to restrain the ninken from attacking her. He did this with little success and as soon as she was in the foyer, the dogs happily pounced while Shino tried in vane to restrain them. It seemed that the Inuzuka dogs could not control their lickers. Tenten was wearing the coat that he had bestowed to her earlier, which he noted with satisfaction as he had only managed to restrict one crazy brother around the collar to detain him. He himself was wearing one very similar, grateful that he had enough time to go home and collect one before taking on the duties and activities for the evening. The other two brothers had Tenten on the floor and they were licking her like crazy. The jacket was splay open and one grey and white furred canine had taken it upon himself to lick every inch of her face while the other one licked her torso. Shino looked on salaciously as a large flat tongue brushed over the front side of one breast nearly bringing up her shirt with inertia and leaving a distinctly hard nipple in its wake.

Watching all of that transpire, Shino let his grip on the dog's collar go slack, and the brother gladly took advantage, jerking Shino out of voyeuristic reverie. With a sudden Inuzuka-like authority, he managed to hook up all the brothers to their respective leashes and take them outside to wait for their walk. He chained them up to the fence post securely and went back inside to find Tenten wiping off fur from her clothing with her hands.

"My apologies," Shino stated as he closed the door behind him. She managed to smile at him, which he took as encouragement.

"They tend to get a little excited around me," she admitted humbly with a bit of embarrassment. Shino nearly blurted something stupid about them not being the only ones exited to see her, so he bit his tongue instead, and led her into the main living room where he told her Hana would be down shortly.

"I didn't realize that you spent so much time here," Tenten spoke with great ease.

"Kiba was in need of my assistance while his mother is out of town," he readily replied.

"I didn't know that you were so good with animals," Tenten spoke with interest.

"As you can see from the incidence in the kitchen, I am still learning," Shino nearly frowned at his inability to restrain the Haimaru brothers. But Tenten laughed playfully to assure him that all was well.

"I think you are doing just fine," she offered him a bright smile, one that filled his chest and constricted it all at the same time, "those three are trouble, Hana tells me all the time."

And speak of the devil; Hana was quickly coming downstairs, shouting instructions to Kiba as she retied her hair back into its usual pony tail.

"We won't be long, Kiba, thanks for making dinner while I'm out!" There was a muffled shouting back from the younger Inuzuka and a loud yip from Akamaru in response. If Shino guessed correctly, Kiba had responded something to the effect of "have fun."

Hana turned her attention to Shino with a wide fang-filled smile and thanked him very generously for all of his help. Shino nodded in response, and the two girls headed out for the evening.

..0.0.0.o.o.o.o.…...00..o..o.o

"You are so wearing this on your date with Iruka-san tomorrow." Tenten brandished a flowing silky red dress to the Inuzuka heiress, and she blushed almost instantaneously at its scandalous low v neck. "He won't be able to stop drooling to formulate a coherent sentence, try it on." Tenten held out the crimson dress with a smile. Hana almost reluctantly took it, but as she fingered the soft material she was almost hypnotized by its charming yet daring cut.

Tenten pushed her to the dressing room and stood watch by the door, pushing more clothes for Hana to try on into her already full arms. "They have it in blue," Tenten called, fingering the slinky dress with her great care. "What is his favorite color?"

Hana came out of the dressing room with a swish of the material and a bounce in her step. She twirled, letting the folds of the dress fan out in her pirouette, and Tenten had never seen her friend so happy to be in a dress before.

"Damn," Tenten spoke with authority, "Let your hair out: give me the full effect."

Hana complied, scraping out her hair tie and lavishly flinging her hair wildly out of its stiff confines to complete the sultry look. She purposely leaned against the door of the dressing room, playfully raising one leg and batting her eyelashes in an overly coquette manner until Tenten chuckled at the sight. Tenten stopped as Hana's eyes bulged suddenly and moment later Tenten was abruptly lurched forward from two men paying so close to their conversation that they nearly ran her over.

"I swear if I didn't want to impress her so badly I wouldn't have brought you along," the shorter one expressed with exasperation. The silver haired one sighed and explained with an almost sing-song voice that spoke of the shorter's desperation, "You still need me to help you deal with her ninken, but first we need to find a shirt that will compliment your eyes, I can't believe you don't own any civvie clothes that don't require a cowboy hat to complete the…oof" and Kakashi ran straight into Tenten's back sending her stumbling forwards in front of Hana. It was quite easy even for a ninja of Kakashi's caliber to do so, the wracks of clothes twisted and turned in odd directions, and there was no way to tell if someone was coming around the corner unless you were on full ninja guard. Who the hell would be while they were clothes shopping?

"Sorry," Kakashi held out a hand to help Tenten up and she took it gratefully, and the two then became onlookers to the interplay between Hana and Iruka. Hana, who had very quickly gotten out of her mock-seductive pose, was now holding her hands behind her back as Iruka stared at her like a man suddenly aroused at knife point.

He was openly ogling her, and seemed frozen in fear at her presence at the same time.

"I'd say it's red," Tenten turned to Hana, and Hana looked over at Tenten and smiled with satisfaction.

"Quite the little number," Kakashi spoke up. He too let his good eye roam over the slender konoichi's figure with approval. "Don't you think she looks quite lovely in that dress, Iruka?"

Iruka finally blinked, and jerked his head towards Kakashi to answer.

"Yes, of course," he finally responded, and a slight tinge to his cheeks spread to his ears, leaving the scar across his nose as white as ever.

"Umino-san," Tenten summoned the sensei who let his eyes drift back to the red-clad woman now swishing her dress back and forth with a slight sway of her hips, weather done subconsciously or not, Tenten would have to ask later. She was no Ibiki, but damn that looked like pleasurable torture as Iruka's dark brown eyes followed the movement of her hips as if in a trance. "What is your favorite color?"

"Red," he answered almost instantaneously, "I mean blue," he squeezed his eyes shut as if mentally kicking himself, "blue, blue is my favorite color," he stammered out with conviction.

And just because she was curious, she asked Kakashi the same question. He responded in a typical, lecherous, completely Kakashi like-response.

"Red," he didn't let his good eye off of the Inuzuka for a moment, "but that would change depending on what color she put on next."

Iruka snapped out of his haze and turned his attention to the jounin staring at his potential girlfriend like she was a piece of meat. With a jealous anger, he grabbed his arm, and with a curt, yet polite farewell to the ladies, he bid them good night and told Hana that he was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow.

They could hear a brief "ow" being muffled over racks of clothes a few isles over and Tenten and Hana nearly burst into giggles as Iruka berated the masked joinin for his rude behavior.

Tenten and Hana both agreed that it would be best to get both dresses, and filled with the night's purchases, they headed home.

A/N: Couldn't resist putting in a little IrukaxHana. More ShinoxTenten to come next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Tenten couldn't stick around for dinner, and bid the Inuzuka household good night after realizing that perhaps she didn't linger any longer because Kiba had casually mentioned that Shino had left only moments ago. She reluctantly pulled out the jacket she had purchased from the department store, not really willing to take off the one Shino had given her. His scent on the jacket had faded, but some of it still lingered and she found herself nuzzling the inside for more than just warmth from the bitter wind. She should wash it before returning it to him, so she took one last long inhale and dumped into her load with some other clothes. Tomorrow she would be sure to be extra early, half wanting to know if he would drop down again like he did two days ago from the Hyuga rooftop. She would be able to give his jacket back to him then, she really shouldn't try to make a special trip to his complex just to return a jacket that she very well knew he really wasn't in dire straights of getting back.

She tucked the newly laundered jacket into her backpack, and restocked her med pack before making herself dinner.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.0.0.0.o.o.o.o….o.o.o.o

The next morning brought the same frigid air leaving a crisp frost covering the ground of Konoha once more. The air was calm and there was little wind, but the temperature dipped well below the lines of freezing and the twin-bunned konoichi shivered as she stepped out of her apartment. Before she could even get half-way to the complex, Shino strode in step with her casually walking in sinc with her.

"Good morning," Shino offered with what Tenten might imagine a chipper tone to his voice.

"Good morning," she smile back, a little intrigued by his sudden appearance.

"It's awfully cold, and since I believe we have some time to spare, and we are quite close anyways, would you like to accompany me to get some roobis tea?" He almost rushed his words out, and Tenten could percieve that he was a bit nervous, and she wondered to herself if his jaw was clenched while he spoke or not.

"I'd love to- it's my favorite."

They turned in the direction of the market place, just starting to buzz with the daily routine of Konoha denizens, all sporting their winter coats, parading in and out of shops like ants tunneling in and out of a hill, with spurts of warm air puffing out with each "good morning" they jovially shared. Shino led her to a small shop corner, and if Tenten would have blinked she would have missed it. A very sanguine visage from the shop keep welcomed the Aburame with a smile and verdant welcome. Shino greeted her by name and asked for two cups of his regular. The woman raked a judging eye over Tenten politely, and turned to bustle in the back to retrieve the tea. She could hear a soft chuckle come from Shino as he glanced in the shop keep's direction and Tenten tried to calm her blush from the sudden scrutiny.

"Come here often?" Tenten asked, rocking back on her heels.

"About once or so a week," he responded and Tenten could tell that he smiled underneath his high lapels. His hands were in his pockets while Tenten's were rubbing each other to fight off the morning chill. It took very little time for the boisterous woman to come waddling back to the front of the window with their tea, and Tenten saw the woman wink approvingly at Shino as he placed some coins in her hand.

He offered her a steaming plain brown to-go cup, "She puts a slice of orange in it; I hope that you don't mind."

Tenten took the warm cup in her hands, drinking in the welcomed heat. "That's good." She smiled up at him, "Thank you."

"Any time."

Tenten couldn't help but notice how often they had said that to each other the last week. It seemed to be their own personal catch phrase of banter between the two of them.

They walked side by side to the Hyuga complex, brushing up against each other every so often and trading shy smiles by way of apology for the sudden nudges. Akamaru and Kiba were coming along the path to greet them, his own steaming mug in his hand, from what Tenten could smell, it was hot chocolate.

"I need coffee," the groggy Inuzuka announced with a forlorn look at his mug. "This is warming me up, but not quite _waking_ me up." And with a scowl he took a long swig off of the mug and licked his lips. "What are you guys drinking?"

"The usual." Shino held out the cup to his teammate, "want some?"

"Bah," the Inuzuka declined with a shake of his head, "I need leaded this morning."

And scratching the back of his head, the red tattooed shinobi pointed to Tenten and stated, "nice jacket by the way," before taking in the last of the hot chocolate in a long tilt of his mug.

Remembering herself, Tenten muttered a quick thanks, and brought Shino's jacket out from her backpack and gave it to him with a smile. He pulled out the whet stone from an inside pocket and presented it to her as well. The exchange done with smiles of gratitude, it wasn't long before two acrimonious Hyuga's came out of the main house, clearly Hinata was more upset than Neji, as she stated with a very clear, non-stuttering un-Hinata type manner.

"I cannot believe you did that you _jerk_." Hinata folded her arms across her chest and seethed beside him, unable to look him in the face she was so mad.

Hinata had been known to get pink from being embarrassed, but it seemed that when she was upset, only the tips of her ears turned that color, and she protracted her jaw to offset not grinding her teeth.

Neji looked up to the sky and gave a long sigh, "I am sorry," he spoke apologetically, "I panicked."

"My first date with Naruto-kun and you had to tell my father and ruin it? It took me two years before I could even have a conversation with him with out stuttering! Just because you have insecurities about finding someone to attend a formal dinner with you, doesn't mean you can change the conversation and throw me under the bus!"

Neji closed his eyes and actually looked contrite for his despicable behavior.

"Whoa, Neji, I don't think I've ever seen Hinata pissed off before," Kiba verbalized what everyone was thinking. "I would have to kick your ass, but I am pretty sure if Hinata wanted to do it right now she would, and I don't think any of us would stop her."

"I wouldn't blame her either," he commented with another sigh. "I haven't been able to gather the courage to ask Ino," he sighed again deeply, "I should have never brought up your date with Naruto."

"Damn straight!" she said reprovingly, but everyone could tell she wasn't going to stay mad for long.

"Forgive me Hinata-sama?" And he made a face resembling puppy-dog eyes, just with clear pupils instead of dark brown ones. Hinata smiled and nudged him with her shoulder.

"Of course," she stated kindly.

"Okay, you too have gotten _far_ too comfortable sharing your feelings in front of us." Kiba announced as they hugged. Neji shrugged his shoulders after they parted, unaffected by the comment or the fact that he had just made his feelings for the Yamanaka known to the entire group.

"Naruto," was all he gave by way of explanation. His frosted demeanor had changed rapidly, and he was becoming more accustomed to sharing with out being embarrassed about it. A defeated look of depression still lingered on him, with the inauspicious belief that the girl of affections would return them.

"Don't worry, Neji," Tenten cajoled, "I'm sure if you just asked her, she would say yes." She gave a sympathetic smile and turned to look at Shino, who looked distinctly pale underneath the attention she suddenly gave him.

Kiba yawned, showing off his long canine fangs. "Where's Lee when you need him?" he absentmindedly scratched the back of his head, "We could all use a pep talk right about now."

As if being summoned from his very words, the Rock Lee appeared, leaking his surfeit hyperactive prana onto the group's sullen mood. This cheered them up considerably, and the group was stirred out of their respective torpor and headed off to face the rest of the day.

o.o...…...o.o.o.o

"New mission," Shino stated to his teammate as they walked to the training grounds, "we need to hook up Ino and Neji."

Kiba gave him an askance look of disbelief. "How is that going to help you get Tenten to like you?"

"It probably won't," he surmised, "I don't want her to know that we are doing it anyways."

"Okay, I am officially hallucinating from lack of sleep." Kiba pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "You want to do something altruistic that involves my help, don't you?"

Shino nodded to the sleep deprived Inuzuka. "Why are you so tired today, anyhow?" he asked suddenly curious.

Kiba's face split into a fatuous grin. "Shiho kept me up late last night."

Shino just shook his head at his friend's luck. The cryptanalyst had long lost her crush on Shikamaru and had been dating Kiba for a little over three months. It had all started because Akamaru had tackled her and wouldn't stop licking her face one day. The oversized dog had knocked off her glasses and Kiba had helped her up. He offered her glasses back to her and asked her to dinner in way of apology for his rude dog's behavior. Akamaru was later given a T-bone steak dinner after he had gotten a kiss from the frizzy haired girl that very night. The rest is history.

"Meet me at the Yamanaka flower shop after practice I have a plan."

…..o.o.o.

"Hey if we are going to be here, we might as well get some flowers for our girls," Kiba reasoned, riffling through flower bins with discretion. "Man I have no idea what the hell I am doing," Kiba raked a clawed hand through his disheveled hair with frustration. The blonde pony-tailed girl popped up from around the corner, apron already mottled with green splotches on the front.

"Can I help you?" she asked very politely. "Need some flowers for Shiho?" she asked with innocent eyes.

"Yeah," Kiba admitted, "I have no idea what she would like." He sheepishly grinned at her with a hand behind her head, "I keep giving her CD's and getting her books she's been asking for, not very romantic, huh?"

"Nah, that stuff is all good, but perhaps something to speak of her intelligence and beauty, like an orchid, might spice things up?" She dug through a small bin and retrieved a purple bloom, and delicately handed it to the grateful shinobi.

"Perfect!" Kiba announced his approval. "Shino, Neji was right about her," he turned to his goggled teammate and held up the flower for him to inspect.

"He certainly was," Shino played along, "she has exquisite taste in flowers, I suppose what the Hyuga said applies here."

Ino had replaced her hands behind her back and furrowed her eyebrows with curiosity.

"Neji was talking about me?" she looked shocked, "what was he saying?"

"Just the usual," Kiba shrugged his shoulders as he spun the flower around on its stem to admire it, "that you are dynamic in not only shinobi arts but understand how to interpret them all in the real world and therefore appreciate the little details of life that matter."

He paused as his words sunk in. "Or something to that effect, Shino do you remember what he had said about Ino this morning?"

"Neji needed someone to accompany him to a formal dinner," Shino supplied.

"Ah, yeah, seems the poor guy is a bit shy around pretty blondes," Kiba nudged Ino with a friendly elbow, "maybe you could help the guy out, initiate a conversation with him sometime."

Ino turned her head down and blushed from head to toe. Kiba used this time to wink at his partner in crime and Shino nodded that their work was done.

"You gunna get anything for Tenten?" Kiba tried to lower his voice, but the Yamanka overheard anyways. Kiba almost hissed at his mistake, and Shino frowned with his dissent.

"I do not know, it might be too early for such advances." Shino explained to Ino, but the girl had brightened and crossed the room to find some flowers.

"These are good for starting a relationship," Ino offered him a bundle of daisies.

Shino nodded, taking flower and letting some kakkai run freely over the blossoms as he thanked her.

After purchasing their flowers, the two headed out, satisfied with a mission well done.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Just to clear up any confusion from last chapter, leaded means caffeinated. And yes, Neji and Hinata were a bit OOC but with good reason, it follows the progression they make over the years- Hinata being able to stop her stuttering and being made into sterner stuff to the point where she can get mad and vocalize such feelings, and Neji because he is getting rid of the ice cold exterior that needs to be shed.

Shino hated the fact that now that he had purchased the flowers, he had to actually give them to her. The thought terrified him, as theirs was more of a casual relationship, and he was slowly moving his way out of the friendship zone. Why else would he strategically inch his way closer to her everyday waiting outside of the Hyuga complex? Flowers would certainly seal his intentions, and he felt breathless just thinking about how she was going to react.

He could always _not_ give them to her, but now that Ino was involved, and she knew, he had no choice else the brown-haired konoichi think they were intentioned for another. The impromptu tea date had gone so well, he was afraid he might screw it up on this one simple act.

He settled for a compromise with himself and left them with a note on her doorstep that evening.

o.o.o.0.0.00…..o.o.o

Tenten nearly knocked over the small jar full of fresh daisies as she dragged herself onto her apartment porch. With a startled "oh!" she quickly picked up the make-shift vase and springy white flowers from their spot against the door. Taped to the mason jar was a note folded in half.

_For you. Just because._

_-Anytime_

He really wasn't one for flowery words to say the least. Staring at the note, she made her way into her apartment taking the jar of fresh daisies with her. It was certainly an unexpected surprise, and Tenten couldn't help but smile at the friendly flowers as she sniffed them, letting the few kakkai bugs on the stems crawl onto her fingers with a grin.

.o.o.o.o...…..o.o.o

"If you don't quit pushing Akikmichi, this is going to be your last meal," Tenten spoke over her shoulder light-heartedly as the large boy unceremoniously pushed her playfully into the booth.

Shikamaru looked on across from Tenten and Choji as she and the large boy exchanged friendly shoves, and finally remembering how much Shikamaru loathed the playful exploits between the two after a long sigh from the shadow user, they muttered their apologies and bashfully looked at the menu. Tenten kept thinking to herself how incredibly unreasonable it was for him to get jealous that Choji had other friends besides him, and how today he was especially cantankerous, in great need to get whatever was wedged sideways up his ass out of it.

Raising a menu to cover her face, she turned to Choji who leaned down to hear her. "Yeesh!" Tenten exasperated to her friend, "Who pissed in his Nija Starz this morning?"

Choji gave a deep chuckle, "Temari will be here in a few days, he always gets a little antsy before she arrives."

"She needs to get here sooner, because man does Shikamaru need to get-"

"I can hear you!" Shikamaru slapped a hand on the table with a deleterious look.

"Why are you shouting?" Lee asked as he slid in next to the Nara, who was furcating his scathing look between the Weapons Mistress and his best friend.

Tenten blinked up in innocence and smiled at her green clad teammate. "Is Gai arranging the sitting schedule with Kurenai again?" She asked, eyeing the brunette and her sensei both pointing at a piece of paper while seated at the bar.

"Yeah, sounds like her team will be joining us for lunch as well, they have a long mission coming up and we might be sitting the little tike to help compensate while they are away."

Tenten looked down to the end of the booth where Ino and Neji were comfortably talking to one another. Neji had just given her one of his shy smiles and Ino flipped her hair back.

So cute, it was a wonder neither Gai nor Lee had bothered to comment or make a spectacle.

Small miracles.

"Hey, Choji, lemme out," Tenten tapped on a forearm that was nearly double the size of her calves.

Choji looked her up and down as if she had lost her mind, "And risk disturbing Ino?" He raised an eyebrow, "Are you outta your tree?"

Ino was still chatting away affably with Neji, and the two looked so content in their discussion that Tenten realized that she shouldn't interrupt probably the longest conversation that they had ever shared together.

"Meh, you are right, I don't feel like being chakra damaged next spar with Neji either," Tenten drew lazily, mock imitating Shikamaru, who managed to give a half-assed death glare back at her.

With her tongue sticking out and a few hand signals, she poofed herself out of the booth and next to the restroom. After a quick wash of her hands and a splash of cold water to her face, she nearly skipped out, knowing Shino would be along soon.

Team eight managed to slip into the booth behind team ten in her absence. Gai seemed on his very best behavior talking to the red-eyed sensei now seated in the booth with them and Tenten took the empty spot next to Shino across from Hinata and Kiba. Tenten could almost feel Shino stiffen uncomfortably, as she "accidentally" brushed too close to the bug-nin to sit down.

"Glad to hear you both had a good time last night," Kiba smiled to Hinata, "Will you get to see him again before our mission?"

Hinata nodded fervently, "For dinner tonight," she shyly folded her napkin in her lap, "a picnic at the top of the Hokage monument."

"Nice," Kiba stretched his arms above his head.

"When are you leaving?" Tenten chimed in casually and placed her hand on the seat of the booth, grasping at the cushion in apprehension.

"Tomorrow," Kiba sighed, "And we have no idea when we will be back," he gestured towards Gai and Kurenai who were still engaged in a quiet conversation at the end of the booth. "That is why we are here with Gai, Kurenai-sensei is thinking we need another team to go with us and they are trying to figure out which team would be best."

"I thought it was another schedule conflict with babysitting," Tenten furrowed her brow.

"That too, I'm sure," Kiba agreed.

"So, what's the mission?" Tenten asked, but almost forgot what she was saying as the Aburame next to her casually slid his hand beside hers so that their pinkies were touching. It was amazing how little he had to touch her in order to get her brain to go a little fuzzy.

"Our team somehow got this reputation for being a great tracker team," Kiba explained with a roll of his eyes attesting to his modesty. "The group of insurgent ninja is unknown, so Tsunade is wanting to put more than one team on this assignment."

Tenten had to concentrate hard on his words as the sudden pinky that was just idly sitting next to her slowly swept over hers in a light caress.

"Are you going to be able to see Shiho?" Tenten asked as she slipped her sandal off and slowly made her way over to Shino's calf, touching him with the dorsal side. The sudden contact made him bang a knee into the table and shift in his spot to try to cover up his blunder. Tenten didn't break contact and casually glanced at Shino, like everyone else had, as if she hadn't just caused his sudden uneasiness. The twin bunned konoichi placed her free hand underneath her chin as she spied the tinge of red on the Aburame's cheeks from the corner of her eye.

"Doing anything special with her before you go?" She continued innocently.

The Inuzuka continued to eye the goggled shinobi dubiously as he spoke, "Just a walk around the lake with Akamaru and then dinner at her place," he shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing too crazy, I don't want to make it seem like I am marching off to my death."

Tenten could only nod in agreement as Shino had decidedly taken his hand, whose pinky had been so brazen as to brush over hers, and place it completely over hers. The warmth closed over her hand in a rush, and the konoichi caught her breath at his response. She fought a smile from forming on her face as she raised her foot higher, somehow tunneling past he confines of his capris, an few inches past his knee joint to the medial aspect of his thigh. She couldn't get as high as she wanted, but Shino's grip tightened on her hand significantly and Tenten yawned to hide her smirk. She pulled her foot out, and decided to rest it against his calf for warmth, giving the now very tense shinobi a break from her torture. His grip suddenly tightened and then released her hand, as he shifted to get out of his steely jacket. The action seemed to have a domino effect, and soon everyone was stripping themselves out of their coats. The waitress arrived, served their drinks and took their orders, and Tenten was despondent when the hour had gone by so quickly, without much more physical contact from the tall ninja beside her. She reluctantly placed her discalced appendage back in her sandal and sighed as she relaxed her back to the booth.

Team Gai was nearly dragged out by Gai, insisting they get back to their training ground immediately, and Tenten was hardly able to give the Aburame a smile before Lee helped yank her and Neji out the door.

"Good luck on your mission guys!" Tenten nearly shouted as Lee insensately marched them out of the building with all the vigor of youth. Tenten turned to Neji, now grumpy from being torn apart from Ino, and kept quiet about being beleaguered by their enthusiastic teammate, to spare him a sympathetic look. Neji shook his head slightly, as if to say he was used to it, or at least he should be by now.

It would be nice to get an evening alone with Shino, perhaps just a bit of one on one time before he headed out on the extended mission, but she had a feeling that Gai's training regiment was going to cost her well into the hours of the evening.

It's not like she had a valid excuse to see Shino anyways.

Might as well take out some youthful frustration during practice-she focused on her training, knowing she only had a shower, some leftovers and a bed to go home to.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Shino was still reeling from the sudden shock of a slender, cold foot being placed so casually against the back of his leg. Not to mention where that foot had wondered. He couldn't believe that he jumped the way that he did, but he didn't expect that sort of gambit from the young konoichi. Her touch had thrown a bucket of cold water on his nerves yet it felt as if his destruction bug were swimming inside him as if on fire with flitting wings. It was all very confusing and Shino felt the deluge of emotion sweep over him, dulling his better reasoning so that it when she was almost gone, all he could do was look on in horror, torpidly letting her escape with her team as if looking at the whole scenario through another's eyes.

When the moment had passed and Shino realized his lapse in judgment, he looked to Kiba for guidance. He was hoping the dog-nin would either offer up some advice or slap him out of his indolent, sluggish state. Perhaps both, Shino felt he needed a jumpstart after allowing himself to touch her hand and then in the next moment let her leave as if what he did hadn't mattered at all.

"Just see her tomorrow morning before we head off," Kiba drawled lazily, almost to the ceiling as if he wouldn't acknowledge it was Shino he was talking to as he slid out of the booth.

Shino nodded to Kiba and Hinata suddenly supplied so quietly, Shino almost thought he had imagined it, "Don't wait that long, Shino, see her tonight."


	6. Chapter 6

The mission room was crowded, shinobi of all caliber were lining the walls, anxious to begin the meeting in an unusual display of calm and order. Normally one or two (Genma and Raido) were having some sort of contest or pushing and shoving each other or mock challenging Gai if he were there. Tonight, the laconic shinobi whispered quietly to one another or not at all, as they leaned against the peeling grey paint awaiting orders. Shikaku entered carrying a scroll under his arms, and then deftly called everyone to attention as he laid it down and unfurled it.

"About 6 hours run north of Konoha," the scared-faced man began, "an unknown number of rouge insurgents began to rally for support from local port towns," he brought out a picture of a older man, with a hidden stone insignia on his hitai-ate, who looked like he had broken his nose more than once time in his lifetime, and placed it on the table for all to see. "This man, Ranku, is said to be their leader, if he looks familiar, he should, he has been in the bingo book for more than 15 years. He is our main target. We need to take him out, which should disperse the radicals, as long as we can get them out of port towns. With out back up or assistance, they won't retaliate and take it out on the citizens of the villages along the coast. Their goal is to eventually take out Konoha, and we need to keep these small villages our allies, not to mention protect them. If Ranku turns the villages against us, it gives him a greater foot hold to attack Konoha when his forces are strong enough."

Everyone shifted silently, coming to grips with knowing their actions could create all out war with in the next few hours. Some one cleared their throat, and then Skikaku continued.

"We will be breaking apart from the assigned teams in order to maximize our effectiveness over the next few hours."

There will be four teams, Tsume, Kakashi, Hana, and Kiba will be the tracker leads for each team, Hinata, Neji, Ko, and Tokuma will each be assigned as eyes for the team leads. Every team will have a tracker, and every team will have a Huyga for eyes. Here is the breakdown of the teams…"

Shino was going with Kakashi and Neji, his team had been dispersed in favor of more experienced ninja being assigned on each team rather than keeping his together.

He noticed Tenten had not been assigned a team. Niether had Gai, Lee or Anko.

"You four," Shikaku looked up to see they had gathered around the table in an orderly fashion. "Gai and Lee will be branching off to the North East tonight, Anko and Tenten will be going North West. You four are our fastest shinobi, we need your speed to scout and then report back to these groups." The shadow user indicated that Gai and Lee needed to report to Kiba, and Tenten and Anko to Hana's team. He handed them their conscripts outlining their specific duties. Shino was uneasy about the mission, but at least he wasn't on the same team as she was. She would become a distraction, and Shino wasn't sure he wouldn't be able to stop himself if she got hurt. With a curt nod the four shinobi disappeared into the hallway, and Shino took inventory that Kakashi had slipped out with them, giving Shino a wink to him that he had gotten caught but was still going anyways.

Tenten quickly pulled Lee and Gai into the hallway, distracting them with a treat from the vending machine so that Anko and Kakashi could share their moment alone.

Half gloved hands cupped her pale face, the concern in his eye, the closeness to her body, it all spoke of how he wouldn't be able to breathe again if he lost her. She gave him a toothy grin, spoke reassuring words as she played with the zipper on his flack jacket, and winked at him to comfort him. He knew, all to well, front line duty, the scouts, sometimes never came back. She was tough, he knew more than anyone else, made of far sterner stuff than he, and he still couldn't help but hold her close, whispering, promising, how much he cared about her, wanting her to return safe. He squeezed her tightly, his arms trying to enfold over her body as if to protect it, his grip showing the frailty of his psyche if he would ever lose the hold he had on her. With a bit of protesting from her part saying that indeed, she wasn't going to die, he closed his eyes, still pressing her close and letting his forehead rest against hers.

"I'll be back terrorizing your apartment, ordering takeout, wearing your clothes, and leaving obscene messages on your mirror for you to find when your shower fogs it up before you know it," Anko promised as he stroked her cheek with his eye still closed.

"You look good only wearing one of my shirts," he muttered huskily, reminiscing about such things with a smile.

"We'll be fighting over the remote control before you know it," she promised with a smile of her own, for the first time, showing him how worried she was now that they were alone. He pulled his mask down and kissed her, pouring every ounce of his soul into it, leaving her with no doubt that he loved her beyond words, as if desperately grasping onto her in this last moment, because it very well could have been his last with her.

Tenten coughed loudly, announcing that Lee and Gai were turning the corner to come for Anko, so that they could all leave the gates at the same time. Tenten saw Kakashi slip inside as Anko checked her pouch for provisions and weapons. When Tenten left for training with Gai in the afternoon, she had no idea she was going to be pulled into the mission they were discussing at lunch. She would have made a better effort to talk to Shino if she had.

Front scouting. Tenten never imagined that her fast paced running would get her into trouble, not out of it. Statistics stated that front scouts for this kind of reconnaissance had a fifty-fifty chance of not making it back. Tenten fell back in sinc with Anko behind the boys, game face on, fully alert and ready to run.

"Get to say good-bye?" Tenten asked stoically, locking the scroll inside the confines of her pouch.

"Yeah," Anko stated decisively, setting her jaw in a firm angle. Anko suddenly turned to her friend, "you?"

Tenten shook her head as the two konoichi caught up to Lee and Gai marching out of the Hokage tower. She winked over at her friend. "Maybe next time."

The cool night air refreshed the shinobi as they exited the stuffy confines of the tower. Taking off to the gates, Tenten enjoyed the quiet moments of the city with its glowing low lights and hum of insects that hadn't quite made it to hibernating for the winter.

She hoped she would be able to return again, perhaps soon, to enjoy the fading taste of fall hitting the back of her throat now in full force. With a nod to her sensei and teammate, they parted mid-village to pursue different gates.

Gear in tow, the konoichi jumped to the trees and set off, with any luck they would make it to the port town before dawn and get a few hours of sleep before scouting out the town for more information.

Luck would have it: they weren't but an hour away before Anko and Tenten had stopped, now sensing chakra signatures up ahead. There were at least nine of them in a camp, spread out in groups of three, one group taking guard shift while the others slept.

Anko swore in a long stream that hitched between gasps of air.

Leaning up against a tree, the konichi paused to catch their breath and look at each other.

It was the look you give your comrade when you knew you were both going to die: the kind that led to huge confessions before going in guns ablazin'.

"Remember your boots you saved up for, the black leather ones that went up to your thighs?"

"How could I forget? I saved for five months for those puppies," Tenten responded grabbing a kunai and hoping to the opposite tree as their enemies approached.

Anko peered around the tree with a nod that they were coming, "I broke the chakra signature on them after I tried them on with out your permission," Anko nearly shouted as she defended a blow coming from her right, the enemy nin coming to attack swiftly and efficiently with no warning.

His partner launched himself at Tenten with out hesitation, and Tenten stepped off the branch in a jinx to her left, making her pursuer follow to a trap set below.

"I love those boots, Anko!" the Weapons Mistress called above her, flushing out the other nin who tried to grab her from behind. She flipped him over with inertia, and the black-clad ninja rolled neatly to his feet. He unsheathed a katana from his back and slowly made his way towards the younger ninja.

"Kakashi loves them too!" was her response, almost drowned out by the clinking of kunai and other weapons being thrown or clashed together in the treetops.

Tenten frowned at her opponent, who had a look on his face as if he had already won as he inched his way towards her.

"Ahh!" was Tenten's drawn-out disgusted response, although the ninja in front of her thought that she was upset over her current seemingly weaponless situation.

When he tried for a clean finishing blow, she directed him straight into a tree, slamming his face into the bark and breaking his arm cleanly as she took his weapon.

"I'm sorry they broke! I know you liked them!" her call was farther away, moving progressively from their camp. Tenten rushed up the tree tops to engage in another furry of attacks.

"Sit up and hold still," Tenten informed breaking the plastic so the chemicals could mix inside the clear tube. Tenten forced Anko's head against the tree trunk and quickly wiped the blood trickling down with a spare gauze pad before applying the glue to hold the skin above her brow together. The cut had missed her eye by only a few millimeters, bisecting her eyebrow and nicking the eyelid so that a dot of blood could be seen on the fragile skin covering.

"How bad is your hip?" Anko asked whoozily, now exhausted from lack of sleep, chakra and blood after their scuffle with the rouge nin. She continued to eye the split-lipped konoichi, but only half-lidded; the drip of blood from the gash in the Weapon's Mistress's side now an audible spat against the bark of the tree.

"Give me your arm," Tenten commanded, and hesitated at the gash along her radial bone, needing more medical attention than Tenten's skills had to offer. She settled for wrapping it tightly with the many bandages at her feet, unwilling to stop until her bleeding friend had all her major wounds wrapped to the best of her abilities.

"Sorry about your boots," Anko spoke languidly with dried, cracked lips, turning dangerously white from lack of blood.

Tenten smiled, revealing blood stained teeth next to her swollen bleeding lips. "They're still under warranty," she winked as she finished swathing her forearm, then pushed a blood pill into her friends mouth. Anko chewed without ferver; one could never get used to the sound or taste that near death always brings you. Haling herself up to sit next to her friend by the tree trunk, she lifted her shirt to assess the damage to her side. Tenten hissed and looked away, eyes closed tightly shut at the bloody mess that lay underneath her tattered new coat and shirt.

"That ain't good kid," Anko shifted her weight to help press some gauze to her side. "Lay down, hand me that kit, we are going to have to stitch you up the old fashioned way, we are both depleted of chakra."

Tenten held her shirt up and complied with laying down. She needed sleep, and it was almost morning. Passing out just seemed like the best thing to do at the time.


	7. Chapter 7

There were no words to describe how agitated the Aburame and the copy ninja were. Their women sent almost to their death had them both moving at an abnormally faster pace than protocol allowed, but no one on their team was going to give them grief for pushing farther into the night. From what everyone could tell, it was just Kakashi being protective of Anko. No one knew about Shino's attachment to the other konoichi.

Shino had a bad feeling. His kakkai were buzzing apprehensively underneath his skin. The ninken in front with Kakashi jumped onward, every jump with consonance off the cold weathered branches, no doubt following a trail with consummate skill. It was that kind of portentous mission that left the pit of his stomach in vacuous agitation, and Shino felt helpless, knowing there was nothing he could do to placate the feelings.

He needed to find her. Save her. He needed to do it now. The urgency was felt in his bones and in the look that Kakashi gave him every now and again. That same desperate plea that he wanted to vocalize in the mission room that still rang clear in his ears with every jump his feet made on the branches below him. Something was wrong, and Shino needed to make it right. He needed to find her, his breathing feeling more bereft with out her as the minutes tore on.

"This way," Pakkun announced, changing trajectory, "I smell blood."

If Shino wasn't panicked before, his heart nearly exploding in his ears was a sure sign that he was close to losing his stoic façade. It must have been a few more minutes before they stopped in the empty campsite, now abandoned: the signs of a scuffle evident by the splattering of blood on tree bark and knife thrashes on broken down tents. The fire still aglow with embers that wouldn't fade: someone was near. Barely alive, and close.

Shino and Kakashi tore off to the fading chakra signatures, leaving the team to ransack the campsite for information and supplies.

The two konoichi were slumped in on each other, battered and covered in blood in various degrees of viscosity and crustiness.

"Kakashi!" Anko cried with relief as the joinin jumped to her side, evaluating her head wound with both of his hands. He turned her head from side to side to inspect it, then focused his attention to the unconscious girl in her lap.

"Idiot gave me the last blood pill," she explained, sitting up as Kakashi removed the dead weight of the girl and placed it in Shino's open arms. Kakashi helped her up, bringing the group back down to the enemy's camp.

"Ino!" Kakashi called to the blonde with urgency, "we need a blood pill and your medical skills," Kakashi helped Anko down on a log by the fire and attended to her as Shino placed Tenten on a blanket spread out on the ground. Ino knelt beside her with a medpack, opening a compartment and shoving a pill into the girl's mouth.

"Shino, get her to swallow that," she commanded. Shino took her head in his lap and very gently massaged the pill down her trachea with trembling hands.

Ino swore as she lifted the girl's shirt, and Shino tried not to be useless as he sat helplessly with her head in his lap, doing his best to find a faint pulse and coming up dry. The blood was too dark; Shino thought to himself, blood coming out nearly black was a bad sign. Her blue, puffy lips were also on the list of things that arouse his senses to great life threatening peril. The blue flame from Ino's hand was his only comfort as he cradled her head in his hands.

o.o.o..o.o.o.o.o.o.o

It was definitely time to panic.

Tenten tried to open her eyes, but her sore and exhausted body wouldn't allow it. Sleep, she wanted to keep sleeping, even over the muffled low voice pleading with her to pull through. _Pull through what?_ Her mind asked of itself. Surely she was not dying; the body that was next to her was warm and inviting and vibrating.

No, that didn't seem rational; but the inventory that the konoichi was taking wasn't lying.

But bodies don't vibrate.

This made that rational side of her start to arouse itself to become more aware of her surroundings. Warm body, soft, deep male voice, vibrating body. There was a howling in the distance, a whipping of wind against the tent.

She thought of all the people with a voice as sexy as the one whispering into her ear.

Well, that ruled out _her_ team.

She could feel soft lips brush against her ear. She knew who she _wanted_ it to be.

"Shino," she felt escape her lips in a strangled cry. The vibrating and humming grew steadily.

Yes, _humming_ became louder. She wanted him to be there, next to her when she let her eyes flutter open.

Managing to only get them half way, her hazy vision fogged over with the impingement of sleep still listless in her body and mind.

The thought pervaded against all hope, "Shino," she tried again in her frantic state, willing her body to move, to find him, turning on her side and then screaming out in agony as her body protested with jolts of pain up her side.

"Don't move," he pleaded, "you're still recovering," a large hand came to rest on the side of her face, warm and welcoming, shifting wisps of bangs out of her eyes.

Her body was ridged, still trying to get up despite the pain, despite the man's pleas.

"Anko…" she strained her body with tension, unwilling to give up until she knew her friend was safe.

"She is with Kakashi, she is safe," came his reply. Her eyes began to focus. She was in a tent, the humming numbing her into a stupor against her body. The tent flap snapped angrily against the wind.

As she sat up she realized just how cold it was in the tent as she left the warm body below her and the blanket fell off of her.

She let the cold sweep over her to help regain her bearings.

"How long have I been out?" she didn't bother turning to him, only continued to eye the snapping of the tent canvas as she spoke. The blizzard outside ragged, and there was no sign of snow that she could think of when she had started out that night.

"Three days," he spoke, and then as she turned to look at him, several things caught her attention.

The first noticeable thing was that Shino was not wearing his goggles. This caught her breath in her throat at the sight of very attractive dark brown eyes staring back at her, not only with concern but with something else she wasn't quite sure of. Perhaps self-consciousness? Was he really all that shy about not wearing his glasses? His eyes were beyond gorgeous. And speaking of gorgeous, he was shirtless except the bandages around his ribs. His broad frame was swathed in white strips and Tenten could see every defined muscle as he reached to pull her back down to him.

"It's cold." He placed a large bandaged hand on her shoulders. "I have strict orders not to let you die of hypothermia."

"You're hurt," was all she could reply, still numb from the shock of seeing him wounded and half-naked all at the same time. He shrugged his shoulders, as if knowing such an action would give the konoichi more mind-numbing eye-candy.

She easily followed the lead of his hand, back into the warmth of the confines of the blanket…back into his strong arms.

It was surprisingly easy to fall back asleep, knowing that morning would soon be coming and there was time left to rest before having to return home.

She had missed the brunt of the scuffle, taking in the near-death experience head on first. They were camped out, waiting out the storm during the night before going back to Konoha in the morning. Shino held on tight to her, fighting to keep her warm, no doubt in his mind safe as well, she thought. She wondered to herself if she could even walk to make it home. She drifted in and out of sleep, fighting off a fever and clutching to Shino for dear life. He let his kakkai lull her to sleep as his hand made soft lazy circles on the small of her back, coaxing her to rest until daylight. The wind howled furiously outside, but Shino, her rock, remained calm within; her inviolable fortress of strength and comfort.

..0.0.o.o.o.o..0

There was worried and then there was the complete wreck that Shino was.

Three days had gone by, while he was out fighting the rouge nin, all the while wondering if she would make it back at the campsite…hoping they hadn't found her…hoping she would fight for life, and that the reassuring looks Ino gave Tenten's team, including Shino, weren't as fake and forced as they looked. He returned every night, taking someone else's spot next to the konoichi, keeping her warm and trying not to get jealous as he watched Yamato pull a shirt over his head as he stepped out of her tent.

"Taking off your shirt," he explained to the younger shinobi, "makes it easier to share body heat." Shino just nodded and ducked into the tent, zipping out the cold weather and shrugging off his jacket and shirt, thankful to spend the rest of his night by her side.

A few broken ribs and minor cuts and scrapes didn't seem to compare to the trauma that Ino had diagnosed. Poison, but Ino assured him that the antidote was well in her system. Though she took a higher dose than normal, (not to mention the profuse bleeding), Tenten had been building up immunity for just such and occasion. If she was lucky, she would pull through in a week, Ino promised.

Kakashi had given him straight orders to make sure the konoichi did not die of hypothermia on his watch, and Shino took his orders more seriously than he had ever taken orders in his entire life.

He whispered words of encouragement, letting her hear the thrum of his kakkai and timber of his voice to soothe her. He touched her, hesitantly at first, but as she responded in kind, grabbing him to her, it encouraged him to hold her closer. He just hoped she wasn't doing this with Yamato.

When her first words were his name, it flooded his chest with relief and he felt confident again. Though it was the middle of the night, he was alert, now elated that she was awake. The sudden break in contact was almost too much, and he instructed her to come back to him, so that the distance between them would be so cold or feel quite so far. She complied with his encouragement, febric though she was, and nestled back down, burrowing into the covers and his protection.

Come morning, they would have to make their way back to Konoha. Shino almost stayed up just to hear her breathing against him as the wind roared outside.


	8. Chapter 8

The morning came and despite Shino's best efforts, he had drifted off asleep, only to be aroused to a lack of heat and tangled blankets. Tenten was gone, no doubt in search of food in order to get her chakra levels up for the long day back in the harsh winter weather. He dressed quickly, packing up the tent and the rest of his supplies and made it over to the fire, where Tenten was in front of it, sitting on a log looking quite drowsy and exhausted.

Yamato handed her a mug of soup, and she took it with a half smile and a thank you, too tired to give much by way of conversation, and Yamato slipped back into his tent much to Shino's delight. Tenten's eyes glazed over as she looked into the depths of the fire and sipped on her soup. She looked haggard; dark circles under her eyes, hair nearly falling out of her twin buns so that large chunks were starting to wrap carelessly around her long neck, frame becoming a little too thin from lack of food. Despite all of this, she had a glow about her that Shino just couldn't put a finger on. She was still beautiful. Yamato came back out of his tent, brandishing a blanket and wrapping it around Tenten. If she thought he lingered just a little too close, it never showed on her tired visage. She was probably too fatigued to be aware that the man was flirting with her and was probably just happy to share in his body's warmth.

Shino's destruction bugs were nearly as possessive as he was and they rattled against his chest and limbs with rancorous protests.

Anko climbed out of her tent with a loud stretch and a yawn. Another half smile and a garbled "good morning" from Tenten, and Anko had decided to pull her aside exclaiming that she needed to wash up and Anko had a pitcher of hot water and a towel with her name on it. Nearly dragging the kunoichi with her by the arm, they disappeared away from camp. They didn't reappear until they were ready to head out, Tenten with emaculate twin buns on top of her head and clean, and Anko looking pensive about the day's journey. Anko lingered almost protectively about her, using the copy nin as a deflector and shield if anyone approached them.

Shino wasn't sure what to make of all of this, and decided not to bother the motherly and scary as hell ninja and fell in line by Yamato as they took off.

This was a bad idea on his part, because the helmeted man stole glances in her direction enough times that Tenten should have noticed his strange behavior. The journey was taking up more energy than she was willing to admit, and all of her concentration was used towards moving. She didn't have the mental energy to notice his oncoming advances. This worried Shino greatly.

It wasn't long before the kunoichi was stumbling behind and soon stopped altogether, falling into a trunk of a tree for support.

"Anko," Tenten panted, "I need a break." She slid down against the bark, chest heaving and gasping for air. With an unsteady arm, she brushed sweat from her forehead and rested her head against the tree.

The group came to a halt, Ino checking her vitals and Anko offering her moral and physical support by way of sitting right next to her and letting her lean against her as well.

"The poison is still running in her system," Ino announced, "she is still fighting it out, but running isn't doing anything but making it progress faster."

"She is also burning up," Anko stated as she pressed a hand into the pale girl's forehead.

"She can't run anymore," Ino shook her head decisively, "she won't make it to Konoha if she does."

Before there was another word on a plan of action, Yamato offered to carry her, already leaning down to pick her up and slinging her over his shoulders. Anko looked like she wanted to object, but didn't and Shino looked on, stiff with horror as his love interest was being carried away by what Shino could only perceive as competition.

This was not good.

Kakashi stepped up, knowing his buddy's calf had taken a blow in battle and was still healing, and stated that in an hour they would have to switch out. Yamato gave a nod of approval, and the group headed out again, Tenten slumped unceremoniously against Yamato's shoulder. He smirked at her as he turned his head, chuckling low to himself at her drowsy head being so close to his.

Shino was fighting homicidal tendencies at this point. He never thought of himself as the jealous type, but seeing Yamato carry the kunoichi so affectionately made the deluge of emotions stir his kakkai into a frenzy. It took all of his strength to keep them from attacking the wood user and stifled the killing intent rolling off of him as he hurried along side Anko.

The hour went by very slowly, and Shino couldn't help but notice how Yamato's hand kept reaching up to her face or wrist every now and again, all which aggravated the Aburame, but he could do nothing to stop it. He supposed logically it was just to adjust her weight on his back, or to check to see if she was still feverish, but how his hands lingered and the way that he touched her was near maddening.

Watching on from the sidelines and doing nothing about it was unacceptable, but honestly Shino didn't want to make a scene, and Yamato was only trying to help. Tenten looked like she was in a fitful sleep, still fighting off the poisonous drugs. Her head lulled from side to side as they moved, and Shino was not liking how pallid she had become.

Finally the group slowed down in a clearing, and Kakashi ordered everyone to take a break and hydrate. Yamato released her reluctantly, and Ino checked her over again.

Kakashi ordered Shino to take over for Yamato, who wanted to voice his dissent, but thought better of it and held his tongue. Shino brought Tenten to her feet, and she gave him a febric, half smile of approval, weather or not it was the poison making her so giddy to see him, he didn't care. She wrapped her small body around his, as if clinging for dear life and the group headed out again.

The gates of Konoha finally came into view. The group headed to the Hokage tower to report quickly, because most everyone needed some kind of medical attention or another. Tsunade had Shizune write up a report short hand while everyone took turns answering questions and the shinobi were shuffling out of the room and down the halls within fifteen minutes. Shino was helping support Tenten by the shoulders along with Anko, and they finally checked Tenten in at the hospital and had her in a bed before either would leave.

Shino needed some minor medical attention himself, and knowing that the hospital would be crammed pack full of wounded shinobi right now, he opted for a clan member with medical training to heal him instead of staying at the hospital. Heading off to his complex, he checked on Tenten one last time before nodding to Anko on his way out.

Mr. Exhausted wanted to be his best friend after a hot shower and the young Aburame couldn't resist his bed calling out to him. Being healed was great, but it always seemed to sap him of his energy. He fell on his bed and let sleep overtake him, wanting to be refreshed to see Tenten the next morning.

Shino woke in the late morning, groggy still, but refreshed from a full nights sleep. He was determined to see Tenten, knowing she would still be in the hospital, hopefully doing much better than the day before.

Team Gai seemed to be crowding over her, and Shino wasn't sure if he should join in the mix. She looked much better, the color had returned to her cheeks and her face did not look as sallow. Neji seemed to be praising Ino's skills as a medical kunoichi, and Gai and Lee were busy making a training regimen for the Weapon's Mistress once she recovered.

To her credit, she sat patiently enduring it all, as if such a thing were a regular occurrence in her life. Shino wasn't sure if that amounted to insanity or patience, and decided to go grab her some more flowers at the Yamanaka shop in order to bide his time until her team left.

While daisies spoke of innocence, he picked tulips, bright yellow ones, complete with a tall vase to compliment them. No mason jar, no messing around. Shino meant business. It was about time he amped up his game, especially since Yamato was an eager competitor for her affections. He needed to let her know exactly just how he felt. However by the time he had come back to her room, she had been discharged. Getting thoroughly frustrated, he set off for her apartment, more determined than ever to set things straight. Tension was growing with every step, the flowers bouncing around jovially as if to ease his nerves.

He knocked on her door instead of leaving them on her door step. Buzzing in his ears from the kakkai's apprehensiveness, and the pounding of his heart made it almost impossible to distinguish her tiny footsteps, padding their way to the door.

She opened the door in a rush, and then a smile, and invited him inside. Taking off jacket and shoes and depositing them by the entry way, he walked in to the tiny apartment.

He placed the tulips in her kitchen, adding a splash of color to her décor. Everything was simple, yet had the distinctive Tenten flare: silk screen in the corner, potted plants, weapons of various sizes, shapes and cultures littered the walls and shelves.

She smiled shyly, fingering the flowers with a whispered thanks, and asked him if he would like some tea.

With a nod, he watched her ease around the kitchen, placing the kettle on the stove and then reaching into a cupboard to the top shelf, trying in vain to grasp for a mug with the tips of her fingers. Brushing up behind her, he carefully pulled a mug down, and if Shino hadn't been looking for it, he wouldn't have notice her breath catch in her throat.

His other hand acting of its own accord, gently came to a rest on her other shoulder, as he grabbed a second cup down from the tall shelf.

She muttered another thanks, a little flushed, and Shino's hand couldn't help but play with the tiny tendrils of hair that had emancipated themselves from the confines of her dual buns.

She shivered.

Placing both hands on her shoulders, he asked her if she was cold.

"Heaters still warming up," She turned around and smiled sheepishly, and clearing her throat, she made her way to another cupboard and asked politely, "um, what kind of tea do you prefer?" She shuffled through a large ceramic bowl. "Looks like I am out of anything good," she muttered bleakly. "Black tea or green tea?" She spoke louder and looked up expectantly from the slightly disorganized container to look at Shino for a second, and, when he didn't reply, she shuffled some more tiny packs of individually wrapped tea aside, "I also have chai," she held up the square pack to the light, "but I don't remember the last time I even bought chai tea, so I don't know if it's gone bad." Placing the packet dubiously on the counter, she rummaged through the bowl some more. "And orange peko…and some Darjeeling, and I believe that is raspberry tea," she squinted an eye closed as if it were to help her remember. "Lee said it was good for something, but I forgot what exactly." With a big breath of air she smiled at him again, awaiting his tea preference from her modest selection.

"Tenten," Shino crossed to loom above her in two small steps. She peered with wide eyes up at him.

"Yes, Shino," she asked breathlessly.

_DING DONG_.

Tenten cursed slightly under her breath as she rounded the corner to open the door. Lee was going to pay for interrupting her one on one time with Shino.

"Lee! I –Yamato?" she asked in confusion, obviously expecting her overly ambitious teammate to be on the other side of the door. "I'm sorry," She blushed with embarrassment, "I thought you were…"

"Lee?" he offered, and Tenten noticed a charming smile spread over his face. He looked a little awkward on her stoop, as if he knew she weren't happy to see him. Which of course she wasn't, not now at least, but she didn't want to be rude.

"I'm sorry," she flushed apologetically, "Lee just always seems to have bad timing, I thought it was him."

"Is this a bad time?" he asked innocently, straightening up from the subtle hint. He obviously didn't want to impose.

"Yeah, it kind of is," she rushed, "I'm sorry," she exhaled audibly and smiled. She tried again, "is there something I could help you with?' she asked anxiously, holding onto the door for dear life instead of inviting him like any sane, normal, polite person would.

"Just came to check on you," he shoved a hand into a pocket, "they said you were released not too long ago, and I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright."

"I'm just fine," Tenten clarified for the shinobi. "Just a little tired still; nothing a little rest won't cure." _And_ _some time with a certain goggled shinobi_. _Now, get the hell off my porch_.

"Thanks for stopping by," Tenten smiled graciously to the jounin before he finally got the hint.

"See you tomorrow," Yamato spoke as she closed the door, waving the man good night.

Tenten threw the lock on the door with a forceful twist of her wrist.

_I am setting fire to anyone else who bothers to set foot on my door step_, she thought murderously.

She turned around, only to find that Shino had snuck up behind her, reaching for his jacket from the coat wrack.

"Perhaps it's best that I should leave, so you can rest."

"What?" Tenten nearly whined out her disapproval, "but you just got here," she reasoned, stopping his hand from taking the jacket with hers. She let him take hold of her small hand, enveloping the warmth of his palm over hers. "Don't go."

He used her hand as leverage to pull her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head and let his arms drape protectively around her. Tenten felt safe and warm, she hoped he still wasn't planning on leaving.

Her eyes were pleading, large with anticipation when she looked up at him.

"Stay?" she asked, pushing his goggles off of his face, "please?"

Shino nodded, and finally closed the distance between them, letting his lips fall over hers, slowly kissing her until Tenten became breathless.

She led the way over to the couch, letting Shino wrap his warm arms around her as they sipped their tea. When Tenten could no longer keep her eyes open as he drew lazy circles up and down her arms as she rest against his chest, he finally picked her up and placed her on her bed.

"Don't go," she pleaded once again, eyes half open, full of sleep.

He nodded, and took his place beside her on the bed, wrapping them in her quilt before drifting off to sleep.

Shino wasn't going to let Yamato share this spot with Tenten ever again.

..o.o.o.o…o.o.o.o..0….0…..0.0.0.

A/N: Thank you to all my loyal reviewers and fans! My spelling is atrocious, and if I didn't mention it before, I failed spelling with every grade through out my life. Explains a lot, no? I am surprised that I don't spell my name wrong most days. You are all fabulous and purdy, and I am grateful to have such amazing support! Thanks for all the love!

~jaggedjacket~


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